What are bitwise shift (bit-shift) operators and how do they work?

Bitwise shift operators move the binary representation of numbers to the left or right by a specified number of positions.

Types:

1. Left Shift:
   • Moves all bits to the left.
   • Zeros are added on the right.
   • Effectively multiplies the number by a power of 2 for each shift.
2. Right Shift:
   • Moves all bits to the right.
   • Depending on the type:
     • Arithmetic Right Shift: Fills leftmost bits with the sign bit (used for signed numbers).
     • Logical Right Shift: Fills leftmost bits with zeros (used for unsigned numbers).
3. Unsigned Right Shift:
   • Always fills the leftmost bits with zeros, regardless of the sign of the number.

Key Points:

• Discarded Bits: Any bits shifted out are lost.
• Efficiency: Shifts are computationally faster than multiplication or division for powers of 2.
• Applications: Used in data manipulation, flag operations, performance optimization, and low-level programming.

Understanding shifts helps in working with binary data and optimizing computations.